James Hook scores Wales' only try
Martin Johnson selected a more experienced team to take on Wales in Cardiff. Warren Gatland called for Wales to send out a ‘strong message’ to their group against England. England had to make a late change as Chris Ashton was ruled out. He was replaced by Bath’s Matt Banahan.
Wales kicked off with George North plucking the ball out of Matt Banahan’s hands and earning Wales a penalty. Rhys Preistland slotted the penalty attempt. Wales 3 England 0
Toby Flood in a similar opening move chipped the kick-off to Nick Easter. Wales showed a lack of discipline as their whole back line drifted offside. Flood made his first attempt.
Wales 3 England 3
Wales had possession on England’s 22 metre line with a line-out. The throw went long and Jamie Roberts was in under the posts, however, he could not hold on to the ball. He knocked on and let England off the hook. From the resulting scrum, Wales dominated and won a penalty in front of the posts. Priestland made the easy kick. Wales 6 England 3
Another short re-start for England was expertly taken by Mike Tindall. England won a penalty and ambitiously kicked to the corner instead of taking the points. The line-out was well taken by Courtney Lawes, who set up a driving maul. Richard Wigglesworth released quick ball out to Shontayne Hape who crashed up the middle. Then the ball went wide out to Flood, who passed it on to Tindall, who threw a wide lofted pass on to Banahan who looked like he was in for an easy early try. However, Shane Williams made an excellent tackle on Banahan, forcing a knock-on. From the following 5 metre scrum Toby Faletau drove off the back and knocked on. England dominated at the resulting scrums. A penalty try for England or a yellow card against a Welsh prop looked likely. However, England could not secure easy ball. The ball popped out and Hape was sent on a crash ball, but he could not secure the ball for England and knocked-on. Wales cleared their line.
England stole a line-out on the half way line. Flood put in a high up and under which was well chased by Tindall. Tindall put pressure on James Hook who gave away a penalty in front of the posts. Flood took the three points without breaking a sweat to tie the scores: Wales 6 England 6.
Gavin Henson went off with a wrist injury after a promising effort. His first-line defence was excellent and he had a few nice touches with the ball in hand. Henson has since had corrective surgery on his wrist and is now a serious doubt for the plane New Zealand.
England took possession in Wales’ 22 thanks to a strong line-out. The forwards set up a powerful rolling maul. England had quality ball but there was a lack of dynamism in attack. I believe England need Manu Tuilagi to join up with Tindall in the centres. Tindall could move to inside centre with Tuilagi outside him. This would provide a blend experience and youth which would still be strong in defence, but with a burst of pace included.
Another well taken line-out was tapped back to Danny Care who was on for Richard Wigglesworth. Care made a lighting-quick 30m break. England recycled quickly and ran through 8 phases of possession before giving away a silly penalty after getting isolated. In the last minute of the 1st half Flood put Tindall through a huge gap in the Welsh blitz defence. His momentum continued and England’s forwards were camped on the Welsh line. Hape gave away a penalty and Wales cleared the ball as the half time whistle blew.
Half time: Wales 6 England 6
At half time England were showing that they were capable of winning plenty of possession and territory, but could not make the pressure toll. Wales were defending their line robustly. This is a good sign for their upcoming trip to New Zealand. They will have to have strong defence against pool opponents such as South Africa and Fiji.
Flood kicked off for the 2nd half and once again Tindall regained the re-start. Jamie Roberts leapt over the top at the breakdown and picked up a yellow-card. Flood made an excellent start to the 2nd half with another successful attempt at goal. England took the lead for the first time. Wales 6 England 9
After a Welsh clearance, Banahan took a quick line-out releasing Foden on a counter-attacking run. Foden linked up with Tindall who popped the ball on to Hape. George North should have been yellow carded as he deliberately kicked the ball out of a ruck. England’s backs were showing positivity in counter-attacking against Wales. England won their line-out and drove forward towards the Welsh line. Thompson went very close, but was thwarted by Alun Wyn Jones. Phenomenal defence by Wales won them a penalty and allowed them to clear the pressure. A score with Wales a man down would have helped England grind out a win.
Wales found territory in England’s 22 and took a line-out. After a few phases of possession James Hook cut a great line past a feeble tackle attempt by Dan Cole through to the line. Wales took the lead, showing England how to take their chances. Hook converted his own try. Wales 13 England 9
England took the ball into the Welsh 22, but Sam Warburton stole the ball. England on the counter-attack gave away a penalty. Foolishly England talked-back to the referee and were marched back a further 10 metres. This brought the penalty into Hook’s range. This was a careless error that gave Wales another 3 points after another well-struck kick. Wales 16 England 9
Mike Phillips then deliberately halted England’s counter-attacking play and earned himself 10 minutes in the sin-bin. Charlie Hodgson, who was on for Flood kicked for the corner. From the line-out Lawes took the ball, but carelessly dropped the ball. Martin Johnson’s men were making schoolboy errors. Shane Williams cleared the ball and England had another chance at the line-out. Tom Palmer took the ball. England set up a driving maul, but Nick Easter bumped into his own man, giving away a penalty.
England won a scrum on half-way. With England needing to attack, Hodgson lost his chance of a ticket to New Zealand. He opted to kick possession away and kicked out on the full. One of England’s last attacking chances was blown. After the pressure England had put on the Welsh defence throughout the match, the logical choice would have been to throw the ball wide and get Armitage and Foden in space.
England stole the line-out. Armitage released Foden who ran down the left wing. He opted to grubber the ball ahead instead of recycling the ball. The kick bounced of a Welsh leg and England had a final chance to attack the Welsh line. Another poor line-out followed. The ball was slapped back to Care by Tom Palmer when England needed clean ball. Wales won a turnover and kicked the ball long, releasing the pressure. Mark Cueto collected the ball, seeming to knock it on, but was told to play on. He then ran into contact and gave away a penalty. Hook took the full minute he was entitled to and smashed over the long kick to ensure England were more than a converted try away from Wales. Wales 19 England 9
From the restart Shane Williams hoofed the ball into touch. The final whistle went. The final score: Wales 19 England 9 It was a game of missed chances by England. Wales defended stoically and James Hook took his try well. My man of the match: James Hook. He ran the show for Wales, scored the only try and kicked his points to keep England out of the game. He will be a dangerous man in New Zealand.
England has to bounce back against Ireland. Some players really are down to their last chance. My Team vs. Ireland would be:
1. Dan Cole- needs to prove himself, was less than convincing against Wales
2. Dylan Hartley- will bring much needed aggression into the English pack
3. Matt Stephens- needs to continue his return from his ban and build on a good performance in the 1st test vs. Wales
4. Courtney Lawes- needs to eradicate silly errors and find his form again
5. Simon Shaw- will provide experience and sheer power
6. Tom Croft- will add discipline to the line-out and secure quick ball for England’s backs
7. James Haskell- had a strong 1st test vs. Wales and will provide pace and power to the back-row
8. Nick Easter- needs to prove that he is the 1st choice No.8
9. Danny Care- is the number 1 choice in my opinion, he looks sharp and gets England quality ball
10. Jonny Wilkinson- has been stronger than Flood and his experience is invaluable
11. Delon Armitage- has been dangerous in attack, gives England counter attacking options
12. Mike Tindall (Capt.) - showed promising signs, made strong breaks and chased kicks well. He played at inside centre in the 2003 World Cup final vs. Australia. Used to play at inside with Will Greenwood outside.
13. Manu Tuilagi- excelled in his 1st cap vs. Wales in 1st Test, will learn a lot alongside Tindall and adds pace to the back line whilst maintaining robust defence
14. Charlie Sharples- reportedly the quickest man in the squad and the 2nd fastest man in the training squad. Charlie is a proven try-scorer for Gloucester. Mark Cueto has not shown his form and Matt Banahan did not take his chance with Chris Ashton’s injury. He should have scored; a one on one with Shane Williams should be no competition
15. Ben Foden- dynamic attacking option and is confident in defence. I like the thought of having Armitage and Foden together for a serious counter-attacking threat.
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